SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — John Dendahl, who led the Republican Party of New Mexico for nearly a decade and was known for his fearless challenges of Democrats, has died. He was 75.

Family and friends said Dendahl died Saturday in a Colorado hospital from complications from leukemia treatments. His wife, Jackie, said he had been in the hospital for a month.

Known as an articulate and combative conservative, Dendahl served as GOP chairman from 1994 until 2003.

“The Democrats would be throwing spit wads at us, and John Dendahl was an F-16,” former Gov. Gary Johnson told the Albuquerque Journal (http://bit.ly/1iWTv7G), describing the political Login to read more